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New practices: SWOT[studio]

The latest in a series of practice profiles looking at architects who have recently decided to go it alone either through choice or redundancy

SWOT[studio], Birmingham

Main people: Holly Rose Doron, Matt Vaughan and Matt Warren

Founded: May 2013

Where have you come from?We are postgraduates from Birmingham School of Architecture and the University of Nottingham and work four days a week each at Glenn Howells Architects, APEC and Bryant Priest Newman.

What work do you have?We are embarking on our first commissioned project – S[q]WOT – a hybrid academic and practice space that will squat inside Birmingham City University’s Associated Architects-designed campus. Designed and built with students, it is a space for entrepreneurialism, resourcefulness and collaborative working.

What are your ambitions?As a research practice we want to erode the disparity between education and practice. We are using S[q]WOT to test an education-practice model that is better suited to the next generation of architects. If it works: great. If not: we will move onto the next experiment in search of the hybrid studio of the future.

How optimistic are you as a start-up practice?We’ve been overwhelmed by interest and support from all directions. We won the Deutsche Bank 2013 Award for Creative and Cultural Practice with seed funding to establish SWOT[studio] in parallel to our day jobs. The enthusiasm of Birmingham City University and our employers’ open-mindedness has enabled this venture to happen.

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The Architects' Journal is the voice of architecture in Britain. We sit at the heart of the debate about British architecture and British cities, and form opinions across the whole construction industry on design-related matters